I have seen the trend all too often. At times it in the residence halls blocks away, sometimes I see it in class, and at other times it is sleeping in the bunk below me. This trend is called addiction. It hides within the fibers of your softest blanket, warming you up after a long day of hard work; it lies in the quirky humor and intriguing mystery of one-syllable-television-shows such as “Glee,” “House” and “Lost;” it is mixed skillfully with art and craft into our soy vanilla lattes. Oh yes, you’ve heard of it before and you never thought it would happen to you. But here it is. Plain as day. Addiction.
For some it starts out small with minute doses.. And then when you least expect it, it slaps you square in the face. Sleeping during peculiar hours of the day, drinking obscene amounts of coffee and watching an absurd amount of television, it hinders our ability to perform well academically.
In lieu of the winter quarter, when huddling up in dorms and homes is almost obligatory, here are some ways of saying no to more than 9 hours of sleep in one day, and drinking coffee religiously, and watching way too much of that television show that is really really good…
- Create daily to-do lists and stick with them.
- Let your ‘addiction’ be a sweet treat to hard earned work.
- Substitute your craving with something healthier and more productive.
- Learn to use self control, the main issue at hand.
- Use self control, literally, to block you from sites such as Facebook and Twitter and getting sidetracked subconsciously.
- With a friend, who is also a coffee addict, form a sort of ‘support system’ to where when one of you craves for some java, you text the other. Oh texting, and our generation’s ability to never be alone wherever we are.
Some Activities to substitute with addictions of “Bones,” unnecessary shut-eye and Mochas:
- Homework! Hey, there’s a thought. This is college, isn’t it? Maybe we should get some work done while we are here too…
- Listen to NPR. You’ve got to love Fresh Air and All Things Considered. Terry Gross’s voice has a certain ring to it. And Michele Norris? Come on. How could it get any better?
- Tea is a great substitute for coffee, caffeinated or not, it’s an addiction that isn’t even on this spectrum.
- Think about this: In life, the perspective of many is to do what feels nice and comfortable. But the truth of the matter is, living a needy life now will lead us to a needy future, and the cycle will never end. Now picture your life 20 years from now, you are still trying to make yourself feel good with all of these things. And is it working?
- Imagine how you will feel once you’ve done/consumed these things. Will you be fulfilled? Accomplished? This helps me when I am debating on eating a cookie at lunch (everyday).
- Play a game of: pool, Scrabble, Monopoly, etc.